Kenneth W. Rendell Historical Autographs

Kenneth W. Rendell Historical Autographs is a dealer in historical autographs, historical documents and manuscripts, based in Madison Avenue, New York City. Kenneth W. Rendell Historical Autographs is a member of the Professional Autograph Dealers’ Association and the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America.

Founding and ownership

Kenneth W. Rendell Historical Autographs was founded in 1959 by Kenneth W. Rendell.

Rendell’s interest in historical documents and autographs arose when he traded his medieval coin collection to a friend for his collection of Presidential letters during the 1950s. Though he was a dealer in American colonial coinage at the time, he discovered a passion for historical documents.

Rendell’s new found passion resulted in him buying many items at an estate auction of an autograph dealer in New Hampshire. Since then he has worked as a dealer in historical documents, autographs and manuscripts.

Rendell published his first catalogue in 1959 and Kenneth W. Rendell Historical Autographs was born.

Museum of World War II

Main article: Museum of World War II

Kenneth Rendell is the founder of the Museum of World War II in Natick, Massachusetts.

The museum is made up of 10,000 square feet of display area and is described by the Imperial War Museum in London as:

“a…private collection containing the most comprehensive display of original World War II artifacts on exhibit anywhere in the world”.

The museum was founded over 50 years ago and since then it has built up a collection of over 6,000 artefacts as well as 100 mannequins complete with uniforms and equipment, documenting the period from the ending of World War I to the ending of World War II.

Appraisal

Rendell also appraises archival collections and over the course of 20 years has evaluated nearly all of the major collections donated to American institutions, including the literary archives at Random House.

Other collections that Rendell has appraised include: the family papers of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the archives of RKO and Paramount Pictures, the papers of Samuel L. Clemens, Johannes Brahms, Igor Stravinsky, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern and many more.

Gallery

Kenneth W. Rendell Historical Autographs has a gallery on Madison Avenue in New York City showcasing many great autographs. Though the collection is ever changing, it has previously featured an autograph letter signed by Thomas Paine and an autograph letter signed by Anton Chekhov. Autographs are available to buy in the gallery, as well as on-line.

Notable stock items

Kenneth W. Rendell Historical Auctions have many notable items in stock. The following is a list of several items for sale on the Kenneth W. Rendell Historical Auctions website and their retail prices.

A signed photograph of the Apollo XI astronauts, inscribed by Neil Armstrong and signed by Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin - $17,500

A copy of the mimeographed shooting script of Gone With The Wind - $17,500

A book from George S. Patton, Thee Years War by Christiaan DeWet, signed by the author and also by Patton - $35,000